


The Greatest Thieves Turnabout!

by yello_strangers



Category: Lupin III, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26291410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yello_strangers/pseuds/yello_strangers
Summary: When the visiting Gentleman Thief, known as Lupin the Third himself decides to pay Japanifornia a visit, things don't go as expected during the heist to get the painting of the Great Wave off Kanagawa. With an unexpected murder and kidnapping, Lupin and his gang find themselves at the center of it all! Now it is up to them to test the waters of Japanifornias legal system and solve this case (with the help of some ACTUAL legal professionals) once and for all!
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	1. Night at the Museum! (And no, the exhibits DO NOT come to life!)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I’m pretty new to Ao3 so it will take me some time to adjust to all the features and things like that. I hope you enjoy this little crossover case and that hopefully I portrayed all the characters properly! I’ll try and update the fic as often as I can but since school is starting up, I can’t say for certain how often I will add chapters. But, setting all that aside, have fun reading!

7:30 pm, Wednesday, March third.  
The demon prosecutor, also known as Miles Edgeworth was finishing up writing a report on a recent case. The day had been rather uneventful, so compared to everything else, this actually seemed exciting, more or less. All the prosecutor had left to do was just complete the report, go to the grocery store, go home, eat dinner while watching an episode of Steel Samurai, and sleep. The usual Friday afternoon routine.  
Edgeworth was rather fatigued from the day so he just wanted to get things over and done with, without any major events. Of course, that wouldn't happen anytime soon. At this point, since things were quiet, too quiet, the prosecutor was expecting someone to show up sooner or later.

And, just as expected, not even ten minutes in, a knock on the door broke the silence of the afternoon. Edgeworth sighed, shutting his laptop. He'd learned to tell who exactly was at his door based off the knock, the prosecutor already had a feeling he knew what was in store.  
"Come in-"  
Before Edgeworth could finish his sentence, a black haired girl pranced in. Her hair was tightly tied into a high pony tail, and her scarf almost flowing in the inexistent wind with a seemingly devious energy.  
Edgeworth was rather annoyed.  
"We have doors for a reason, Kay. If everyone could just wander into a room whenever they want, we would have no reason to have them in the first place. Besides, I was just about to leave. Why the late visit?"

The girl, whom we now know is named Kay (or more formally, Kay Faraday, The Great Thief Yatagarasu), grinned.  
"Oh please! You sound like an old man! And how is 7:30 late? That just makes you sound even more old!"

Edgeworth stood up, seeming not insulted in the slightest.  
"I'll have you know that I'm only thirty four, thank you. Anyways, I'm hoping you didn't come just to ridicule me. Because if so, I'm leaving early."  
He was just about to grab his briefcase when Kay quickly slammed down a post-it note on the prosecutors desk.  
"Wait! Actually, can you drop me off at this location, then pick me up at nine?"

Edgeworth picked up the post-it and read it.  
"Oh, this is the address to the museum. Doesn't it close at eight? What could you possibly be doing there after it closes?"  
Kay took out a blindingly pink sparkly camera.  
"I want to test out my new camera! The museum has a special aftershow and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity!"

The prosecutor averted his eyes from the overly flashy camera.  
"And why exactly are you asking me to drive you there? We're in the city, Kay. You can just take a subway."

“Oh please! You never know what creeps could be on the subway! It'd be way easier for a familiar face to drive me there than some creep!"  
Kay exclaimed, putting away her camera. 

With relief, Edgeworth finally looked back in Kay's direction, now that she put away that disco ball of a camera.  
"And here I was thinking that you had a complete disregard for stranger danger. I suppose I was wrong. Kudos to you."

Kay happily adjusted her gloves.  
"Oh, you know I'm always right!”

The prosecutor sighed once again and shoved a few papers and folders into his briefcase, then proceeded to walk towards the door. Kay quickly blocked his path.  
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"Well you wanted a ride didn't you? Thankfully the museum is right across the street from the grocery store so by the time you're done with the aftershow, I'll be there to pick you up.”

Kay grinned.  
"That's just what I wanted to hear!"  
She swung the door open and ran out, yelling....  
"Last one to the car is a rotten egg!"

Edgeworth sighed for the third time this afternoon and followed Kay, locking the door behind him.

***

Lupin happily climbed out of the car, forgetting to shut the door behind him (as always).  
"Well buddies, this is it! Since pops is too busy gathering lackeys, this is the perfect opportunity for a heist!"

The man in the passengers seat, known as Daisuke Jigen lit his cigarette.  
"It's strange how he hasn't noticed the usual calling card you leave him. By now he'd have cops swarming the place. Is he trying a new tactic or something?"

Lupin shrugged as he shoved a small flashlight into his pocket.  
"Well I guess he's just too tired out to notice! You know his old age and all!"

A calm voice sounded from the back seat.  
"Isn't Inspector Zenigata only in his late 40's?"  
Of course, that voice belonged to none other than Goemon Ishikawa. He gripped his sword.  
"On another note, why did you decide to steal the Great Wave off Kanagawa specifically? Aren't there any other famous paintings you can steal?”

Lupin turned to Goemon.  
"What's it to you? We're going on a streak here Goemon!"

Goemon laughed.  
"A streak of what? Horribly attempting to steal priceless paintings, getting caught, breaking out, becoming wanted, and then escaping somewhere else just to repeat the cycle?"

Lupin clapped.  
"Well that's not EXACTLY how I'd put it, but yup! You're catching my drift!"

Goemon just sighed, and fidgeted with his sword.

Jigen snuffed out his cigarette.  
"So what's the plan again?"

Lupin snapped his fingers.  
"Good thing that you reminded me! We'll disguise ourselves as security guards, get into the room where the painting is, grab it, you know, the usual!"

Jigen shrugged.  
"Easy enough.”

Lupin smiled his usual monkey like smile.  
"Good! And with that, let's head in!"

***

Edgeworth stopped his car in front of the museum. There weren't as many cars as he thought there would be so he had plenty of space to stop.  
"Alright, we're here. Just please don't try and steal anything. Though with that camera it's more likely you won't even be able to."

Kay put her hands on her hips.  
"What's it with you and my camera anyway? Do you have a grudge against it or something?"

He shook his head.  
"No, I'm just afraid that the thing is so bright, and pink, and glittery that it will cause me to go blind. It's like a disco ball times a thousand."

Kay laughed, taking out her camera and taking a picture of Edgeworth (who nearly yelped from the combined camera light and glitter).  
"That's the point, genius! I can use it to blind my enemies! And now, if you excuse me, I have things to take pictures of!"  
And with that, Kay, trying to imitate the prosecutor, tried to look as serious as possible as she crawled out of the back seat and swung the door shut, after which she giggled and ran inside. 

Kay ran into the dimly lit lobby. There wasn't anyone there other than herself.  
"Oh! Guess the tour group is up ahead!"  
She skipped down the hall, when she suddenly started to hear footsteps behind her. She turned around, but no one was there.

“That's weird."

Figuring that it was just echos, Kay kept walking. But the footsteps behind her increased in speed and before she could turn around to see who was following her, something hit the girl upside the head and she immediately blacked out...


	2. Whoops, I think I’ll need a Lawyer for this One!

8:00 pm. Same day.  
Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon had just changed into their security guard uniforms and snuck into the museum using the pristine lock picking method of slicing the back door in half (Goemons words, not mine). Lupin turned on his flashlight and shined it in Jigen and Goemons eyes.  
"Alrighty! Now it's just a simple matter of not triggering any alarms, getting the painting, and getting out unharmed! Wooooo! Fun!"  
The other two averted their eyes from the flashlights beam.  
"I doubt it would be very fun if you blind us Lupin."  
Jigen muttered, adjusting his tie.  
Lupin turned the flashlight away from the two, letting its beam shine onto the floor.  
"Right, right."

The group carefully snuck through the empty museum halls. But even though they had searched for the room where the painting was being kept for around fifteen minutes now, they found nothing and were quite possibly lost. Lupin stopped, looking tired.  
"Are you sure we even came to the right museum? We've been searching for way too long now! And I think we've passed this exact spot around five times!"  
Goemon was just amused by the whole situation.  
"Well you're the one who planned the heist. And I'm pretty sure the painting IS here, considering the fact that there is a huge sign outside that says 'New Exhibit! Great Wave off Kanagawa!'. But it's not like I would know. I'm not a 'great thief'."  
As the two argued (or rather just the single, frustrated Lupin), Jigen noticed a shadow of something behind Lupin. Or perhaps... someone....  
Instincts kicking in, Jigen took out his gun and shoved Lupin aside, to see who this person was, that was standing behind him. But, thankfully it was just a sign, indicating where the painting was. Jigen facepalmed.  
"Lupin, you frigging idiot! There was a sign right here! How in the world could you possibly miss that?"

Lupin stood up, rubbing his bottom (which Jigen had just shoved him onto) and looking annoyed.  
"In my defense, it is dark, and I am tired!"

"You are literally holding a flashli- you know what? No! I'll take your word for it. Now can we just get on with this whole operation and be done already?"  
Jigen spat, suddenly seeming more interested in his gun than the plan. 

Lupin spun his flashlight around in his hand.  
"Well then! I'll go inside the room and grab the painting! You two stay out here and make sure no one comes in! Got it?"

The two nodded, watching Lupin carefully open the door into the room, and close it behind him. They were pretty confident in his abilities, so the two knew that nothing bad would happen. Or so they thought.

Meanwhile, Lupin crept in when suddenly he heard shuffling coming from the other side of the room. He dove behind the nearest object, a statue, and waited patiently for the shuffling to stop, looking out every so often to see what in the world was happening. As it turned out, there was a back door to this room. One he wasn't aware of. And through it came in two figures. One seemed to be relentlessly chasing the other, who appeared shorter and had a high pony tale, based on the silhouette. They were shouting at each other. Lupin stifled his breath and turned his flashlight off, before the two figures could notice he was there. After about a minute of shouting, the thief peeked out once again. The figures were now fist fighting. Great. Just what Lupin needed.  
Seconds turned into minutes and Lupin started growing impatient. Since when to fights last THIS long?! He decided it was about time to give those two a piece of his mind.  
He sprang up from his hiding place and turned on his flashlight.  
"Hey you two! We're here to be observing art, not having cat fights! Now what about you hug it out and say sor- AGGHHHHH!"  
Lupins speech was cut off by a splash of warm liquid hitting him. He knew that scent all too well. Blood.  
In shock, the thief dropped his flashlight, which clattered onto the floor, the beam hitting the lifeless body of a security guard, then turning off from the impact. But in the millisecond that the flashlight was in the air, Lupin could make out the second persons face clear as day. It was a girl. Her hair was tied up in a high pony tail and she wore a scarf, pinned to which was a shiny badge resembling a bird. But as soon as the flashlight hit the floor, the girl dropped something, tore a painting off the wall and ran out the back door, leaving Lupin alone. Next to a body. Covered in blood. This wasn't very good, as you can tell.

Since the flashlight turned off, Lupin was left shrouded in darkness.  
"Well this is just great!"  
He leaned down, trying to find his flashlight, which promptly rolled away somewhere. And so, Lupin spent somewhere around three minutes, looking for his flashlight until eventually, he felt something resembling it. He picked it up, but something was off. The weight was different. Plus, Lupin couldn't even find the on and off switch so eventually he gave up, and sat down on the floor.  
"Things can't get any worse... right?

And like any work of fiction (sometimes even non-fiction *cough* 2020 *cough*) would tell you, things did, in fact, get worse. The lights flicked on and multiple alarms started going off all at once. 

"OH WHAT IS THIS, SOME LAME TEENAGERS FAN-FICTION?!"

A whole group of guards ran in, including the excessively swearing Jigen and annoyed Goemon, and surrounded Lupin. He just sighed.  
"I know, I know, I have the right to remain silent. But seriously, do you guys know any lawyers in the area? Preferably within a one kilometer radius?"

One guard, in the back of the room, jumped up and down with her hand out.  
"Oh! Oh! I know a guy! I know a guy!"

Another guard yelled at the first one from across the room.  
"Shut up Maggey!"

A different guard, who was now handcuffing Lupin, also shouted,  
"Yeah, no one cares Maggey!" 

The guard who originally answered Lupins question sniffed.  
"You don't have to be so mean about it..."

Meanwhile Jigen and Goemon were starting to panic. Usually Lupin would make a bolt for it by now. Why was he letting himself get arrested?! Lupin noticed the two and winked at them, then motioned with his head as if saying that he knew what he was doing and that they needed to go. The two were a little relieved but they still weren't off the hook yet. Jigen and Goemon quietly snuck out of the room and ducked behind a statue.  
"So uh, ya know any good lawyers? Maybe one of your relatives is a samurai lawyer?"  
Jigen muttered through clenched teeth. Goemon shook his head.  
"I'm afraid not. Do you?"  
Jigen just sighed.  
"Welp. Let's just hop in the car and drive until we find a law office. We're in Japanifornia. This place is known for its court battles. They can't be that hard to find!"  
Goemon nodded in agreement and the two made a run for it.

***

Whilst all this was happening, Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth was doing his shopping in the grocery store across the street. By now, he was almost done and was just picking out roses for.... er.... no particular reason. Suddenly, the thought hit him. Isn't the museum usually closed on Wednesday’s? Kay must’ve forgotten that. Oh well, she could wait. Roses were more important now.

Once he’d found what he was looking for, the prosecutor was just about to pay in the self checkout when he noticed flashing lights across the street through the window next to the checkouts. The lights in the museum were on and there were police cars surrounding the place.  
“What the-?! Kay what did you do?!”  
Forgetting about his groceries, Edgeworth sprinted to his car and quickly drove across the street to the museum. He then got out of his car and approached one of the officers.  
“Excuse me officer, may I know what just happened at the museum?”

The officer looked up from his clipboard.  
“Oh, Prosecutor Edgeworth! Thinking of prosecuting the case eh? Well. A security guard was murdered and the museums most prized possession is gone! We just arrested the prime suspect in fact!”

“I don’t know yet.”  
Edgeworth stared at the officer.  
“And.... who is this ‘prime suspect’?”

The officer casually looked at his clipboard like a murder and theft didn’t just occur.  
“Oh, it was a gentleman in his mid to late twenties. Maybe early thirties. I think his name was... uhhh.... Arsene Lupin III? I dunno.”

The prosecutor sighed in relief. So it wasn’t Kay. That’s good. But then... where WAS Kay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I changed Meekins to Maggey due to something I’m planning in the next chapters to come. Hope you don’t mind!


	3. Recruiting a Ray of Hope

Jigen and Goemon practically tumbled into the car after quickly changing back into their usual clothes. By now there were multiple police cars and the, for some reason, happy Lupin had just been taken to the detention center to await his trial. Now was as good a time as ever to drive past the speed limit and look for a lawyer.  
Jigen quickly started up the car, not even letting Goemon close the door before driving off. And while Jigen was grumbling about why the hell Lupin decided to let himself be caught, Goemon sat quietly in the back seat.  
A few minutes went by and there was still no law office in sight. Jigen just sighed, tapping the steering wheel with annoyance.  
"The hell? And here I was thinking that this place is infested with lawyers! Guess not."

Goemon crossed his arms.  
"Jigen, do you even know how to hire a lawyer?"

Jigen shrugged.  
"I've never had a reason to. But from what I heard they're the spawns of satan so I've steered clear of them."

"Oh."

Another minute or so, and still nothing. But suddenly, as Jigen was driving over a speed bump, something made a 'thump' noise in the trunk. He looked at Goemon through the rear view mirror.  
"What the hell was that all about?"

Goemon didn't even seem to notice the thump.  
"I believe it's my sword polishing kit."

Jigen stared at Goemon.  
"Since when is a sword polishing kit so heavy that it makes an audible thump?!"

"Well my zantetsuken does require high maintenance."

"Oh."

A moment of silence went by. Goemon stared out the window.  
"We just passed the, er... 'Wright Anything Agency'."

Confused, Jigen checked his rear view mirror. And of course, the sign was getting smaller and smaller as they drove further and further.  
"Now you tell me! Oh goddammit. Welp, guess it's too late to turn back. Let's find a different one."

An unknown amount of time passed, when Goemon broke the arising silence.  
"There's one up ahead. The sign says 'Edgeworth Law Offices'."

"Great."  
Jigen swerved into the parking lot. There weren't exactly any cars there but the lights inside were on. Perhaps whoever worked there preferred using the train or bus as opposed to a car.   
The samurai climbed out of the back seat, resting his sandals on the asphalt.  
"And what if the attorney doesn't take on the case?"

Jigen loaded his gun, smirking.  
"Well then, we use brute force."

***

It was about closing time. Defense attorney, Raymond Shields was packing up his things. He'd already reported everything about the day to Gregory and was now getting ready to leave. Today was rather uneventful. There haven't been any new cases recently so he could go home early. Well... it was around nine by then so maybe he wasn't going home "early early" but at least it was earlier than usual. 

Raymond reached into his pocket in order to get the key so that he could lock the office up for the night but of course, no such luck. The attorney returned to his desk to see if maybe he left the key somewhere there.   
He hummed a tune as he searched through the cabinets and looked on the floor.   
Finally, he spotted something shiny underneath a stack of folders.  
"There you are!"  
He pulled the key out from the pile and twisted it in his hand. How in the world the object had gotten to where he found it, he had no idea.  
Raymond then turned off the lights, allowing the office to only be illuminated by the pale light of the full moon. And just as he was about to push the key into the door, a knock erupted from the other side as well as some furious shuffling.  
 _What the-? At this hour? Seriously?_  
The attorney checked his watch. It was already around 9:30 pm now. Most normal people would be getting to bed by now. And Ray wanted to be among those normal folks, so he called out a response.  
"Sorry but I'm closed for today! Come back tomorrow and I'm sure I'll-!"

Before the attorney could even comprehend what was happening, something pierced through the door and sliced through it with the same speed and ease as one would slice butter for their morning toast. The two equal pieces of what used to be a door clattered onto the floor. In the doorway stood two men.   
The first man had was wearing a fedora. It was ominously pulled over the mans eyes, giving him a threatening appearance. He had his hand placed firmly on a gun holster attached to his belt, which most likely contained a gun, making him even more intimidating. And it's not like the business casual attire and a beard had much of a comforting aspect either. Everything about the man screamed _'don't mess with me if you know what's good for you'_.

The other man had shoulder length, unevenly cut, black hair. In his hand was a sword, one most likely used to have cut Raymond's door in half a moment ago. He was wearing what appeared to be a kendo uniform which explained the sword. Perhaps this man was a samurai of some sort? His demeanor did replicate one of a samurai. It was calmer but still had an edge to it. It was clear he was more willing to think first and act later unlike the gentleman beside him.

Raymond wasn't necessarily scared of the two men. His age had mostly taken away his desire to scream and run away from things. He was willing to hear the two out.  
"Well. Guess I'm open. Now is this a robbery of some kind or-? And who are you anyway?"

The man with the hat over his eyes shook his head.  
"Nah. We're just looking for an attorney for a friend of ours. He got falsely accused of murder."  
He paused for a moment before continuing.  
"I'm Jigen and that's Goemon."  
He gestured at the samurai who nodded a hello. The man called ‘Jigen’ suddenly froze up and facepalmed, like he accidentally blurted out something he wasn’t supposed to say.  
"And I'm guessing you're the Edgeworth guy mentioned on the sign?"

The expression on the attorneys face changed from a frown to a sad smile.  
"I'm afraid the that's the old owner. He's gone now."  
As soon as the sentence left Raymond's mouth, his sad smile morphed into a happier grin.  
"But maybe I can be of assistance? I mean, I do sort of run the place nowadays! Oh and I'm ace attorney, Raymond Shields by the way! Pleasure to meet you!"  
He took his hat off and bowed.

The two men looked at each other and nodded. Goemon simply shrugged.  
"That'd be fine. I like the 'ace' part. If you're not kidding about that of course."

The attorney flopped onto his chair, and put his head in his hands.  
"Sooooo. Mind telling me more about this friend of yours that got accused of murder? If I'm going to defend anyone I at least need to know the.... well... everything! And why are you so sure he was accused falsely?"

The two gentlemen exchanged uneasy glances and Jigen began the story.   
"So our friend... George...."

Raymond piped in.  
"A bit more detail if you may!"

Jigen stood there for a moment then awkwardly added,  
"Curious George... yes. That's his name. Curious George. He's a.... business man. He was taking a stroll at the museum. He's a lover of...."  
He looked over at Goemon for encouragement but somehow that "encouragement" was nowhere to be found.  
"The arts. Specifically paintings. Even more specifically, the expensive ones, you see. As I was saying, the guy was walking down the hall of the museum. He walks into a room to look at a painting. When he walks in, what does he find? A body. And of course, he was going to call the cops but because luck wasn't on his side that day, some guards came rushing in and arrested him. Afterward, Goemon and I drove off to find a lawyer."

Jigen wiggled his fingers for effect. He wasn't exactly sure what effect he was going for but some kind of effect was for sure there because Raymond was clapping.

"Such a wonderful story! I'd totally believe that! That is, if I was five of course."  
He shrugged,  
"Come on people, if you're going to lie at least be believable. And if you can't, don't lie at all! If what you're saying happened just now, the museum would've been long closed! So tell me. Really. Why was your friend there after closing time? And same goes with you."  
The attorney picked up a pen and pointed it at the two men standing in front of him.

Rolling his eyes (or at least Raymond guessed he was doing that because the mans eyes were hidden underneath that hat), Jigen replied.  
"Yeesh. I forgot I wasn't good at lying. Well anyways, just a little reminder..."  
Within a second the man had his gun in hand, and shot a clock hanging across from Ray’s desk so one of its hands was launched out and stuck into a wall, approximately an inch from Raymond's head.  
"Perhaps you could say I have good aim. And Goemon..."  
He gestured at the samurai with his gun.  
"You've seen what he can do. Unless you'd care for an extra demonstration?"

Raymond was about to say no but was stopped by a sudden strange feeling. It was as though his chair shifted. He looked down and found his desk a little closer than usual. The attorney then looked to the left and saw four perfectly cut wooden blocks sitting parallel to his chairs legs. Now it was obvious. The samurai sliced an inch off the legs of the chair. Impressive in its own way.  
Raymond was oddly calm about the whole situation. He simply stood up out of his chair, moved to the side, and leaned on his desk like nothing happened.  
"Oh my! You didn't even get to the point and you're already threatening me. That certainly seems like whatever you or your friend did wasn't good!"   
The attorney picked up a rolled up newspaper and threw it into Jigens hands. His expression went from joking to serious quicker than Goemon cut the door in half a moment ago.  
"I had a feeling you would go looking for a lawyer whether or not Lupin got framed for a murder. You are thieves after all." 

Jigens eyes widened. So much that Ray could actually see them.  
"How did you-"  
He examined the newspaper Raymond threw to him earlier.  
"Oh."

The attorney shrugged.  
"I guess you could say I'm old fashioned for still reading the papers but hey, they've got some valuable stuff on them. Such as the fact that there is a gang of thieves roaming around town. And judging by the visual descriptions and pictures, it was pretty much obvious who you are, really."   
Jigen was about to say something but Ray went on.  
"But eh, I won't hand you over to the cops. At least not yet. I'm already friends with one great thief, I might as well be friends with three more!"

Goemon and Jigen were a bit relieved. But they still hadn't put their guard down completely.   
Goemon closed his eyes and nodded. Meanwhile, Jigen threw the newspaper into the waste basket, muttering something along the lines of,  
"If they were going to put our mug shots on the front cover they could have at least shown my good side." 

The serious expression on the attorneys face quickly melted.  
“Now then! How about you two sit down and ACTUALLY explain what happened, eh? I’ll make you some tea while you do so!”  
He pointed at a small sofa near his desk.

Jigen and Goemon begrudgingly did as told. And as soon as they did so, they explained everything. They talked about the planned heist for the Great Wave off Kanagawa. They talked about them dressing up as security guards and sneaking in through the back door. They talked about the security system getting triggered and finding Lupin sitting next to a corpse, holding the murder weapon. To put it bluntly, Jigen and Goemon told Raymond everything.  
And the attorney payed attention. Midway through Jigen and Goemons story he handed them each a cup of tea and flopped onto the sofa across from the one the two were sitting on and carefully listened, making sure not to miss a single detail. As soon as they had finished talking, Raymond sat in silence for a while. Finally, he spoke, a grin spreading across his face as he did so.  
“Well. I gotta tell you, this case of yours sure is something. And with the whole thieving background, it just sounds so romantic!”

The Jigen and Goemon stared at him for a while. Both then stood up and the samurai quietly asked,  
“So does that mean that you except being the defense attorney for a thief...?”

Ray nodded. And the way he did so didn’t look like he was agreeing to defend a thief wanted by Interpol. It looked more like he was agreeing to get ice cream.  
“I mean, I don’t see why not! I’ve had way worse so defending a mere thief is nothing unusual for Uncle Ray!”  
He clapped his hands, grin not faltering a bit.  
"Alright! And so it's settled!"  
He stood up and stretched out his arms.  
"Now how about a hug? You know, in celebration that I accepted your case?"

Jigen took a big step back and leaned over to whisper something to Goemon.  
"I told you lawyers were the spawns of satan."

Raymond pretended not to hear that and instead put his arms down.  
"Suit yourself."  
He then pulled on his trench coat, glancing out the window. It was raining. How nice.  
"Well, I better get a move on before the rain gets any worse. I’ll probably meet with Lupin tomorrow!”

Jigen stopped him.  
“Wait. Actually, do you mind if we come with you to visit Lupin? I mean, he won’t listen to just anybody! If you want, we can give you a ride there in exchange for you letting us come along.”  
He looked at Goemon and then said quietly,  
“And it’ll give us a better chance of getting in without getting arrested.”

Raymond shrugged.  
“I don’t see why not! I don’t usually ‘take on assistants’...”  
Raymond air quoted the ‘take on assistants’ part. After which, he stared at Goemons sword for a moment and looked back up.  
“But you seem like nice guys and the only thing you’re really doing is getting Lupin to talk so I’m all for it!”  
He wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Jigen.  
“Here’s my address.”  
His expression went back to seriousness.  
“Remember that I can still report you to the cops so don’t try anything funny.”  
He smiled and walked out the door. Or at least what was left of it, yelling,  
“And I’m off!”  
Leaving Jigen and Goemon alone in the room in silence. Jigen opened his mouth to say something but Ray peeked back into the room.  
“By the way, are you going to pay for the door to be replaced?”

Jigen looked him dead in the eyes (this time actually making his eyes seen).  
“Absolutely not.”

Raymond shrugged.  
“Fair enough!”  
The attorney then exited the room and went out into the hall. Jigen and Goemon followed him and dashed out before the attorney had the chance to lock the main lobby door, leaving him to wonder what he had gotten himself into.


	4. When Life Gives you Gumshoe...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, this does contain my headcanon that Zenigata and Gumshoe are cousins so er- be wary of that haha

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN LUPIN GOT ARRESTED?!"  
The red clad inspector practically screamed at the chief of police as he slammed a fist on the desk. 

The chief of police adjusted their glasses.  
"Well you see, we had tons of decisive evidence as well as a witness testimony-"

Zenigata stared at them, putting so much pressure into making a serious expression that he was about to burst a blood vessel.  
"NO! I mean- how did you catch him?! I've been after Lupin for..."  
He counted something on his fingers.  
"A long time! I've never been able to contain him for more than a month yet here you are claiming you caught him! How?! And how do you know it's the real Lupin?!"

The chief raised an eyebrow.  
"Well from the reports I was given, he didn't put up much of a fight. In fact, one of the men arresting him an hour ago reported him singing about how he couldn't wait to go to jail as he was being driven to the detention center."

"WHAT?!"  
Zenigata couldn't believe what he heard. This was absurd! Lupin wanting to get arrested?!  
"That can't be Lupin! Absolutely not! No way! You've got the wrong guy!"

"Well Lupin did ask one of the men to send you over a message."

What could an imposter want from Zenigata? He wasn't exactly sure.  
"What is it?!"

The chief took out a post-it note and put on their reading glasses, like they were about to read a novel.  
"He wanted us to tell you, quote....

_'Hey pops! If you're hearing this then don't worry! If I'm found guilty I'll be out of prison within a week! Also, just so you know, the handcuffs they used to arrest me are nowhere as comfortable as yours! P. S. Try not to get too lonely without me!'_

"...end quote."  
The chief put away the note and took off their glasses, probably to prevent themselves from seeing Zenigata, who looked like he was about to have an aneurysm on the opposite side of the desk.  
The chief waited for him to say something but seeing as how the inspector had been awfully quiet ever since that note was read, the chief supposed they weren't going to get yelled over.  
"Is something wro-"

Of course, Zenigata interrupted the chief as soon as they tried to speak.  
"YOU ACTUALLY ARRESTED THE REAL LUPIN?!?!?! HOW AND WHY DID HE LET YOU ARREST HIM?!"

Despite the inspectors yelling, the chief had little to no reaction and was instead staring at Zenigata with a blank expression.  
"As I told you before, he handed himself over with no issue."

Zenigata went back to silence.  
"Oh."  
But sadly the silence didn't last long, as the chief, yet again, nearly went deaf.  
"BUT WHY?! WHY WOULD HE HAND HIMSELF OVER?!"  
It was like the inspector couldn't even grasp the concept.  
"Usually when he steals something, he does anything he can to get away from the police but he's handing himself over WILLINGLY now?!"

The chief put a hand up for silence.  
"I'll stop you right there. What do you mean by _just_ theft? We have the man in for aggravated assault and manslaughter to the second degree, WHILE trying to steal the museums most prized possession, which went missing anyway despite Lupin already being in police custody!"

Stunned, the inspector backed away from the chiefs desk.  
"But- but- but- Lupin wouldn't do that! He may be a thief and he may steal other people's stuff but he'd never steal anyones life! That just isn't right!" 

Zenigata almost cried the last two sentences with literal tears in his eyes. But alas, the chief wasn't exactly 'impressed'. 

"Inspector Zenigata, you are aware that this is my office and not a cheap soap opera, right? Proclaiming things without solid proof won't work at all. Being an inspector, you should know that by now." 

They picked a document of some sort off their desk and turned around in their expensive looking leather office chair.  
"Now, if all you came to do was ask for back up to arrest Lupin and then start a soap opera in the middle of my office because the person you are looking for has already been detained, then I ask that you please leave. Or, if you'd like to stay a little longer, I'd be happy to find someone to drag- no, sorry, escort you out." 

Thankfully, the inspector didn't take too long to get the clue and immediately shout,  
"WAIT! I WANT TO INVESTIGATE THE CASE!" 

Clearly intrigued, the chief turned back around.  
"Oh?" 

Zenigata gulped, realizing what he just blurted out.  
"Er, well, I mean.... Lupin would never hand himself over willingly unless he has a solid reason! I've been at his heels for... I don't even know how many years! And of all the times he's pulled a stunt like this, he had a good reason to do so! And whatever that reason may be this time, it has to be somehow related to something! It can't just be a red herring that an internationally known thief randomly got the urge to go to jail, would it?!" 

The chief silently stared at Zenigata, causing him to question whether he said something wrong.  
He was just about to ask when the chief finally broke the silence themselves.  
"I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that statement. And as much of an urge I have to see you dragged out of my office, we are severely lacking people on the case since currently most of our detectives are searching for the lost painting. So if it's a deranged inspector from Interpol or not, we could use an extra hand. I'll call over the detective in charge so that he can give you the details."  
They punched a few numbers into their phone and put it up to their ear. A few rings later someone picked up.  
"Hello?....Yes, it's me. We have a guy from Interpol willing to help out on the latest case. Can you tell Scruffy to come up here before his salary has another mysterious decrease? Okay, thank you."  
The chief put down the phone tiredly and looked up at Zenigata.  
"The detective should be here in a moment. Have a seat."  
They pointed at a sofa next to the door. 

Zenigata was yet again at the verge of tears.  
"Oh thank you sir! You don't know how much this means to me!" 

The chief rolled their eyes.  
"No I don't, now sit." 

Not having to be told twice, Zenigata obediently marched to the couch and sat down. 

Not even a minute later, a man in a green trench coat burst into the room.  
"SIR PLEASE DON'T LOWER MY SALARY AGAIN. I SWEAR I WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE TO GO INVESTIGATE-" 

Zenigata winced as he too had to shout those words on multiple occasions to his own boss. Also, the detective sounded weirdly familiar... 

The chief rolled their eyes.  
"That's not what I called you in here for, detective. The reason you're here is because I found an Interpol inspector who can lend you some help on the investigation. But if you really want to have your salary decreased then surely I could...." 

The detective straightened out his back.  
"Please don't! Er.... where is the 'help' exactly?" 

"Behind you." 

The detective turned around to face Zenigata. Now Zenigata knew where he recognized this man from. That was his cousin!  
Eyes widened the detective stared at Zenigata.  
"Koichi?" 

Zenigata stared back.  
"Gummy?!” 

Zenigata stood up with his jaw almost dragging on the floor in disbelief.  
"Since when are you a detective?! Last time I saw you, we were the ultimate cousins of the moving company!” 

The detective scratched his head.  
"Eh, I guess I got bored of that after you left and decided to pick up a job as a detective yourself. But since when do you work for Interpol, pal?" 

The chief cleared their throat loudly.  
"I hate to interrupt your little family reunion, but, Inspector Zenigata and Detective Gumshoe, you have a case to solve. Now get going or I'll make sure you _both_ get a salary decrease as a family value pack." 

Zenigata grimaced and muttered,  
"I'll tell you later."  
Before running out of the office, Gumshoe right behind him. 

They stopped in the hall outside. Gumshoe looked at the inspector.  
"But seriously, since when do you work for Interpol?" 

Zenigata shrugged.  
"Ever since I started chasing Lupin, I guess." 

Gumshoe tilted his head.  
"Isn't that the prime suspect of the case?" 

Zenigata nodded.  
"Yup." 

The two stood in silence for a moment. The detective put his hands on his hips.  
"So pal! What's our next move?" 

Zenigata was already three steps ahead of him, as he grabbed Gumshoe by the sleeve and ran down the hall.  
"The detention center, where else?" 

Gumshoe didn't necessarily object to being dragged down a hall.  
"But the visiting rooms are closed for the night!" 

Zenigata kept running.  
"But the interrogation rooms aren't!" 

And thus, the two detectives swiftly made their way to the detention center, unaware of the insanity to come. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to post this chapter! I’ve been busy with school and haven’t had much time to write. I’ll try and post the next chapter as soon as possible!


	5. The Byrde’s and the P’s

9:15 PM, same day.

Meanwhile, Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth was trying to reason with the officer to let him in to investigate the scene, as he wanted to see where Kay was. But he kept getting the same stone faced response of, "Not unless you're planning to prosecute".  
Edgeworth was beginning to grow anxious about Kay's disappearance. Normally if something like this had happened, she would either, A, be the one blamed for it, or B, stand outside and talk her little mouth off with one of the officers. And in this case it was neither. Did she get taken as hostage? Was she tied up somewhere, unable to shout for help? Could she have even been the victim to this heinous murder?  
All those thoughts sent chills down his spine. He wanted to make sure she was alright but he knew he wouldn't be allowed to search the crime scene unless he accepted the case. Of course this didn't exactly fit into his schedule but what could he do when his assistant had gone missing?   
He looked around, hoping that maybe she was just being questioned as a witness but in the group of two or three witnesses being questioned, she was nowhere to be found.  
The prosecutor sighed, turning to face the police man.  
"Fine. I'll take the case. But just so I can investigate."

The officer quickly scribbled something on his clipboard.  
"Great! I'll find a night guard to accompany you on your investigation-"

Edgeworth shook his head.  
"Oh no, I don't need assistance, thank you. I am fine on my own."

The officer smirked.  
"Sorry but you can't do that this time. A print just got stolen so we can't just up and trust anyone, or something else will get stolen! We're on super high alert so everyone inside has a night guard accompanying them. I'll have one come over in a sec."  
He muttered something in his radio while Edgeworth simply stood there. He wasn't in much of a position to complain or else he'd be deemed suspicious as well. But at the same time he didn't want some random night guard getting involved in his personal business. But alas, he had to suck it up and deal with it. 

Soon enough, a lady, most likely in her early twenties, dressed in a night guard uniform pranced over. Her brunette hair was cut in a messy bob, pinned back by hair clips. Oval shaped glasses adorned her petite face. She immediately saluted Edgeworth.  
"Maggey Byrde at your service! I'll be accompanying you on your investigation!"

The officer glanced at Edgeworth, the look on his face almost saying, "Have fun!" As sarcastically as a glance could, and walked away. The prosecutor rolled his eyes, directing his attention back to the night guard. He knew her already, as she had shown up in a previous case of his. Of course she wasn't the best person to work with but it could've been worse.   
"Oh, good to see you Ms. Byrde. It's been a while since we've last met. I trust you've been well?"

Maggey nodded happily.  
"Yeah! I've been rather well as of late. How about you, Mr...."  
She stumbled on his name, as if she had trouble trying to remember it.   
Edgeworth politely chimed in,  
"Edgeworth. Prosecutor Edgeworth. And I've been fine as well."  
It was rather strange that Maggey couldn't even remember his name but he had better things to worry about. Such as Kay's disappearance.  
"Let's get going now. There's so much to do and so little time."  
The prosecutor walked inside, Maggey running to catch up.  
"Will do!"

As the two walked through the entrance hall, they couldn't help their eyes being caught on every single detail of the room. The museum seemed way bigger on the inside than the outside. There were huge polished stone columns rising up to the ceiling, which felt like it was miles away. Every so often there was a large painting or two hung up in between the columns, making the place seem like a palace and not a museum. Edgeworth was the most impressed, since the only thing that every really came close to this type of architecture was the von Karma mansion. Maggey didn't look as impressed but she was still looking around, as if she was looking for something in particular but couldn't put her finger on it.   
"Hm.... where could Kay have disappeared to... if the whole museum is just as large I could be looking for her for a week!"  
The prosecutor muttered, his dress shoes making little taps on the polished tiles of the floor. Maggey stopped and turned to face him.  
"Kay? Who's that? I don't think I've met her..."  
Edgeworth stopped as well and looked away, still scanning the hall.  
"One of my assistants. She was here when the murder took place."

The night guard nodded.  
"Oh! I get it! So you really just took on this case to look for her, didn't you?"

Despite Edgeworth not wanting to admit it, Maggey was somehow painfully accurate. He steadied himself, not wanting her to catch him off guard.  
"Well technically, yes. But we must also keep our focus on the case as well. Perhaps as we investigate, we'll find more clues as to her disappearance."

Maggey grinned.  
"Sounds great! Let's do it!"  
She looked around.  
"Where should we start?"

"Well here of course. She must've passed through here at one point or another."  
Edgeworth walked forward, keeping a close eye on the surroundings. Maggey shrugged and followed.   
Not looking where he was going, the prosecutor kicked something on accident. Whatever he kicked slid a few feet forward and stopped. Looking down, he immediately realized what it was. It was Kay's camera, seemingly broken. The lens on it was smashed and the casing was heavily dented like it had fallen out of someone's hands and onto the floor. Had Kay dropped it?

Maggey tilted her head.  
"What's a Polaroid like this doing on the floor?"  
Edgeworth examined the camera.  
"That's my question. This is obviously Kay's camera judging by the exterior but what would have caused her to drop it?"  
As he did, he noticed a photo sticking out of the printing slot. He pulled it out but it appeared as if half of the picture hadn't printed. But from what he could make out, there was a hand in front of the screen, covering most of it. But in the background, there was a light and a shadow of something. Unfortunately Edgeworth wasn't able to make out who or what that shadow belonged to and was about to put the photo away when Maggey quickly snatched it out of his hand and stared at it. Not sure what she was getting at, the prosecutor stepped in.  
"I believe the hand belongs to Kay.... did someone knock her out...? Perhaps it was the shadowy figure in front of the hand?"

Maggey crossed her arms.  
"And where did that conclusion come from?"

"Well it is quite obvious to tell from the positions. Whoever knocked Kay out was obviously in front of her so they must've attacked her from the front and-"

Maggey shook her head.  
"Mr. Edgeworth, how do you know that whoever knocked her out didn't just kill her?"

Edgeworth stumbled on his words. It was true. He had no way to prove that Kay wasn't dead.   
It was almost like the guard had read his mind. She smiled.  
"Hm... well at least not yet."

The prosecutor raised an eyebrow, staring at Maggey.  
"Not yet what?"

"We don't know she's dead yet! Besides, there's one key feature you haven't noticed which I think could be pretty important."  
She gave the photo back to him, then pointed at Kay's hand.  
"Look a little closer."

Edgeworth brought the photo a little closer to his eyes. He noticed a little red dot on the girls arm. He looked back up at Maggey.  
"Could that be...?"

Maggey nodded.  
"Yup! A puncture wound made by a needle! It's most likely whoever knocked her out decided to make her _stay_ out with some sort of sedative."

The prosecutor closed his eyes, tapping his foot.   
"I see. Well we'll have to keep that in mind. That may be useful. Put the newfound evidence somewhere as we'll most likely need it later."

Maggey nodded in agreement. She put the camera and photo in a messenger bag hanging over her shoulder and followed Edgeworth as he entered the main hall.   
Right off the bat, there were three night guards guarding one door to the right. One guard was a male and the other two were females. They were discussing something by the looks of it. Maggey immediately ran over.  
"Hey Emmy! Hey Sika! Hey Guy! This is the crime scene, right? We've come to investigate!"  
One of the girls nodded.   
"Uh huh. And who's investigating?"  
Maggey pointed at Edgeworth who was looking around the hall.  
The girl stared at him for a moment then looked back at Maggey.  
"Right. Well head on in or something. I don't get payed enough for this anyway."  
She rolled her eyes and opened the door. Maggey motioned for the prosecutor to follow her and walked in.

The inside of the room was quite small for a change. There were a few statues on display to the right of gods from old Japanese mythology, with little panels on each, talking about each statues history. To the left was a blank wall. A little bit under the middle of it was a metal panel with the inscription,

**The Great Wave off Kanagawa**  
 _1820-1831_  
Hokusai 

But the print itself was missing. Fortunately, the prosecutor wasn't too worried about that now. He was more worried about the body in the middle of the room. It was the body of a night guard. He was face down on the tiled floor, laying in a pool of blood. A few feet away was a blood covered switch blade.   
Edgeworth stared at the body, arms crossed in their usual manner.  
"It's a shame he died to a thief. He could've lived a long life, but here he is, face down on the floor."

Maggey was looking around. Eventually she got on her knees muttering something to herself. Edgeworth looked confused.  
"Ms. Byrde. I understand this is a somberly sight but could you at least sit yourself in a more dignified position?"

Maggey ignored him.  
"It must be around here..... AHA!"  
She dove under a statues legs and retrieved something before quickly getting up. In her hands was... a flashlight?  
Edgeworth stared at her.  
"What... what are you doing....?"

Maggey finally acknowledged his existence after dusting herself off and trying to brush her hair off her shoulder. Forgetting that it was too short, she pulled her hand back clearly disappointed, and looked up at the prosecutor. She held up the flashlight, frowning.  
"Oh this? It's..."  
She turned the flashlight around in her hand and discovered the initials _'ALIII'_ engraved on the handle. She gasped.  
"No way...."

The prosecutor approached her, eyebrows raised.  
"Er.... if I may ask, why did you dive after a flashlight with such excitement?"

Maggey laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.  
"I just thought it was the one I lost today on my shift but turns out it's not heheh."

"Right. And, why did you look so surprised when you turned it around?"  
Edgeworth stared down at Maggey, going back to seriousness,  
Maggey handed him the flashlight.  
"Oh! You see, this has the initials of the thief, Lupin the third. The means he was actually here!"

The prosecutor was unfazed as he examined the it.  
"Well of course he was here. He is the suspect in this very case actually."

Maggey eyes widened.  
"WHAT-"  
She cleared her throat, composing herself.  
"I mean- he had it coming. I knew he'd kill someone one day or another!"

"Right."  
Just then, the door to the room opened and closed. In came one of the guards from before, the one who let them in earlier. She was chewing a piece of gum, looking as disinterested as ever. Her raven black hair was tied up in a lose ponytail which she flicked off her shoulder every now and then. Her uniform looked brand new, as she had yet to iron out the creases, or she just didn't care for the five minute long activity.  
Not even acknowledging the presence of Maggey and Edgeworth, she leaned on the door, staring at the body with such an annoyed look that one could've mistaken her for starting at a puddle of water she had to clean up rather than a corpse of one of her coworkers.   
Maggey put her hands on her hips.  
"And what are you doing here Emmy?"

The guard rolled her eyes, looking over at Maggey.  
"I was told to babysit you two while you were investigating. Apparently boss doesn't trust you enough or something."  
With that she blew a bubble in her gum, holding it long enough to burst with an audible pop.   
Visibly annoyed by her lack of care, the prosecutor gave the guard a stern look.  
"And... who are you?"

The night guard looked up at him, somehow even more annoyed.  
“Emmy P. Oscar. I don’t know if you can tell or not but I work here. What about yourself?”

The prosecutor bowed.  
“Miles Edgeworth. Prosecutor.”

“Uh huh.”  
Emmy blew another bubble in her gum and took out her phone.   
Maggey lowered her head, defeated.  
“Well that wasn’t much help...”

Edgeworth squinted at Emmy who was most likely texting someone.  
“Do you reckon there’s a different reason as to why she needed to ‘watch over us’?”

Maggey immediately perked up, directing her gaze from the floor to Edgeworth.  
“Oh? Like what?”

Noticing her enthusiasm, the prosecutor shook his head.  
“As of now I don’t know. But, what I do know is that something is missing. Something that puts the whole picture together.”  
He faced the wall which used to hold the infamous print.  
“All I know, is that we’ve got a certain person we need to find first.”


	6. The Chase Begins

By now there were multiple forensic scientists examining the crime scene. Maggey and Edgeworth were standing over to the side waiting for results. And soon enough, they got the results. But they weren't exactly what they expected...  
"So what you're trying to say is that the fingerprints on the murder weapon were upside down?"

The forensic scientist nodded nervously. Much to his relief, the prosecutor simply rolled his eyes.  
"Alright then. Thank you. You can go now."  
With that the forensic scientist walked, no, ran away, not glancing back for even a second.  
"Jeez you sure have a eerie atmosphere. You made the man look like he wet his pants!"  
Maggey muttered, taking off her glasses to clean them.  
Edgeworth didn't seem to care and instead stood there deep in thought.  
"Hm... the thief's prints were upside down... no that can't be right. After all, you can't stab someone like that... could that mean..."  
He smiled quite suddenly and looked at Maggey.  
"Perhaps the initial assumption was incorrect."

Maggey was obviously not getting what he was saying at all.  
"What assumption? The one about the defendant?"

"Indeed. But there's something I want to see first."  
He looked over at Emmy who was still playing on her phone, not listening to anything anyone was saying.  
"You don't mind if we leave the room, right?"

Emmy looked up.  
"No, I'm just making sure whoever is in this room doesn't try anything funny."  
She then went back to staring at her phone.

"Well you sure look like you're doing a good job."  
He muttered sarcastically, directing his attention to the back door leading out of the room. The door was behind a statue so it was rather difficult to notice at first glance but it was still somewhat visible.  
"I want to see where that door leads."  
Edgeworth turned the door knob and pulled it open. He then poked his head out, taking in the area. The door led into another museum hallway. This one was smaller the one they initially walked through but it still had it's own charm. Right off the bat he noticed that a few yards away there was another door wide open. Spilling out of the room was shattered glass.   
"I believe I know where the stolen print went."

Hearing those words, Maggey poked her head out as well.  
"Oh! You're right! The window in that room must be shattered!"  
Maggey ran to to room with the shattered glass. Following along, Edgeworth walked out into the hall and shut the door behind him, noticing that there wasn't a doorknob and how seamlessly the door blended into the wall.  
"Strange...."   
He approached the wide open door and walked inside, making sure to avoid the broken glass. The room was mostly filled with old jewelry, each piece in a glass case with it's own label. In the middle, on display was a pendant. It was nothing special, just a silver chain, suspended on which was a blue diamond charm. Upon closer inspection however, he noticed the true beauty of the piece. Inside the diamond were bits and pieces of white quartz, making the diamond look like there was a mini snow storm inside of it. It was almost hypnotizing in a way.  
Maggey was the most intrigued by it. She was staring at the pendant, completely zoned out. The look on her face wasn't exactly easy to read. It was a mix of engrossment and careful deliberations. Like she was planning something in particular.  
It took Edgeworth multiple stern calls of her name to get her attention.   
"Ms. Byrde!"

Maggey shot up into a salute.  
"SIR YES SIR!"

Edgeworth approached shattered window towards the back of the room, leading out into the back portion of the museum where the dumpsters, staff cars, etcetera were parked.   
"I see whoever stole the print decided to go out through here. Perhaps there are more clues outside?"

Maggey nodded, getting up on her tiptoes to get a better view out.  
"I mean it's most probable! I don't know any other reasons as to why it'd be broken."  
She dusted the broken glass off the windowsill and sat on it, leaving the prosecutor standing.   
Noticing Maggey's position, he threw her a questioning glance.  
"You're not planning to jump out, are you? The ground is rather far below."

Maggey waved her hand as if she was disappointed for Edgeworth even thinking that.   
"I mean it's not that far down. Plus the nearest door out is super far away. Best we just take a short cut and get it over with."  
Subsequently, she calmly jumped out the window and much to Edgeworth's chagrin, landed perfectly on her feet.   
Rather surprised, the prosecutor stared down at her.  
"How did you land that...?!"

Maggey adjusted her glasses and shrugged.  
"Just my luck I guess! Now are you coming or not?"

Edgeworth shook his head then turned away.  
"No thank you, I'd rather use the much more civilized technique of exiting via door."  
He then walked out of the room.

***

They soon reconvened in front of the dumpsters. There wasn't much to really look at other than a few cars and the dumpsters. Maggey pointed up at one of them.  
"Hey what's that?"  
Edgeworth looked but couldn't see a thing.  
"What do you mean?"  
"It's right there-" Maggey groaned. "Can you give me a lift? I'll get it."  
"Fine. Just wash your hands afterwards."  
Edgeworth picked up the lady and held her up so that she could get what she saw. She quickly got what she was looking for and signaled to be put down. When she reached the ground, in Maggey's hands was a dark blue scarf. Edgeworth had a feeling he had seen it somewhere before but he was unsure as to where. Or at least until Maggey flipped the scarf in her hands. Attached to it was a golden pin in the shape of a three legged crow. Noticing his exasperated expression, Maggey asked,  
"Is everything okay...?"  
She offered him the scarf which he immediately took. As Edgeworth did, several objects fell out. Those included a large skeleton key, a hair clip, and brown gloves. He picked up the objects and wrapped the scarf around them.  
"There's no doubt about it. These are definitely Kay's... but who disposed of them? It was obviously not Kay seeing these items are important to her. But then who?"

"Oh! I think I know who that is."  
Maggey smiled, happy to help.

"Well then, have at it. What's your theory?"  
Edgeworth closed his eyes, expecting to hear something nonsensical.

"What I believe is that someone came in here with the intention to steal the print and nothing else. But they knew that they needed a disguise or else someone could see them on the security cameras and immediately know who did it. So when a poor defenseless teen walks in, she's the prime target to be drugged and have her things stolen."  
"But wouldn't it be obvious to tell if, for example, a grown man tried to disguise himself as a teenage girl?"  
"It would. That's why I think the culprit must've had a similar appearance. So it was pure luck that they found Kay!"  
"But they wouldn't have known that Kay would have come so why would they have had a tranquilizer?"

Maggey simply shrugged at the rather reasonable question.  
"I mean, many thieves bring tranquilizers in case a guard needs to be taken out. So it'd be logical for our culprit to do so as well."

The prosecutor carefully weighed the possibilities in his head.  
"Assuming your theory is correct, I can only guess that they put Kay somewhere, rushed in to get the painting, then ran out through the back door, jumped out the window, and disposed of the accessories?"

Maggey gave him the thumbs up.  
"That's exactly what I mean!"

"I see... but there is one point that raises a few questions."  
Edgeworth opened his eyes.  
"Why wouldn't they have put the garments back on Kay to make her look like she was the one who did it? And moreover, why would they have hidden her if they wanted to make her so suspicious?"

Maggey tapped her foot anxiously.  
"That I haven't really figured out yet. Guess we have more things to explore..."

"Right."  
Edgeworth muttered doubtfully as he glanced around the scene, fishing for more clues. One thing that caught his attention was the oily foot prints coming from the parking lot and leading to the back door. Initially he hadn't payed much attention to them seeing as how some poor fellow probably just stepped in a puddle of oil that leaked from some car on their way to work. But he still had a feeling that he should have followed them, since they could lead to a clue.   
And so he did, which led him to the very back of the parking lot next to some bushes. There was a puddle of oil which had most likely leaked out from a car, about half a foot from which were some skid marks swerving out of the parking lot and onto the open road.  
"Looks as if someone got out of the car, after which it drove off. But that can't be right..." He kneeled down in front of the oil puddle. "If the skid marks start here then that must be where the back wheels were. So the footprints must've been around the trunk area. But it doesn't look like someone came out of the trunk, it's more like they just stood at it..."  
He turned his head and noticed a metal plate face down a few feet away from the puddle. Judging by the structure it was a license plate. He stood up and picked it up, turning it around in his hand. The number on it was 'R-33'. Edgeworth looked at Maggey, showing her the license plate.  
"Does this ring any bells?"

Maggey took a closer look.  
"I read about it in the newspaper.... oh yeah! That's the license plate of Lupin the Third's car!"

He pulled the plate away from Maggey and looked at it again.  
"So the defendants car, huh? I suppose the defendant had an accomplice then. After all, it's not like he drove the car out of the parking lot and left those skid marks himself."  
Edgeworth gave Maggey the license plate which she put in her bag. He then stepped back to take a final sweep of the area when he noticed one final clue. In the bushes next to where the skid marks were, was a dark shadow. It didn't seem living so Edgeworth approached it with not much thought. He then reached into said bushes and pulled the object out only to find that it was a black duffel bag.  
"Oh? What could this be doing here?"  
The prosecutor propped the bag up on top of the bushes. Maggey peeked over his shoulder as he unzipped it.   
The very first thing he saw was a small rolled up piece of paper attached to the inside of the bag. There was a part where one could see a bit of the text on the note. It said, 

_To whom it may concern....  
If found, return this bag to Goemon Ishikawa XIII within the hour that it is found for a reward of $10,000.  
Or else...._

Edgeworth unrolled the rest of the note only to find five neatly written paragraphs, detailing how whoever this Goemon Ishikawa character was would 'reunite you with your ancestors' and how they wouldn't be very proud to find that you didn't return this 'sacred bag'. But when Edgeworth pushed the note away and looked at the contents of the bag, all he found were what looked like supplies for polishing and repairing a katana.  
"Hm. I figure whoever this Goemon Ishikawa is has to be a samurai of some kind. After all, no one else would find something like this so precious."  
Maggey raised an eyebrow.  
"How do you know all that?"  
"Personal research."  
"Are you sure it's not just you watching a bunch of samurai cartoons?"  
"W-why in the world would you think that I would do such childish things?! I'm a grown adult!"  
Maggey glanced at the prosecutors Steel Samurai keychain hanging out of his pocket, then looked back up at him.  
"Right, of course." She shifted her gaze to the skid marks "Figure Kay was taken away in Lupin's car?"

The prosecutor tapped his foot on the ground.  
"Ostensibly. You seem to know a lot about the defendant so riddle me this, does he have a samurai working with him by any chance?"  
Maggey thought for a good few seconds before answering.  
"I believe so! No one really knows for sure but judging the front page on a newspaper I read a few days ago, his name matches the one on the note inside the bag."  
Edgeworth nodded.  
"Just as I'd thought. Is there anyone else that works with him?"  
"A marksman named Jigen I think."  
"What newspaper did you read all this from? I think I might want to give it a look myself later."  
"Uh... The Morning Bulletin I think. It was a few days ago so I can't really remember."  
"Mhm...." He stared at the duffel bag, unimpressed. "This bag is rather sacred to its owner so I heavily doubt that it would just be thrown out without a second glance. So it certainly couldn't have been the samurai. And neither the marksman nor the thief given the extensive warnings in the note inside the bag. I presume someone outside the thieves group threw the bag out and in the process of forcing the trunk of the car open, knocked off the license plate. Maybe they did this to make space for something. Perhaps even someone temporarily."  
Maggey slowly nodded.  
"I mean, that makes sense to me. But why temporarily?"  
"Because, no one in their right mind would just leave someone they want to blame for something in such an unseen location. It's reasonable to assume they just left Kay in the trunk of the car, ran inside to get the print thinking they'll come back, retrieve Kay, put the accessories back on her, and leave her at the crime scene for the police to find. But the defendants friends fled before our culprit could come back and recover Kay so they threw away the accessories, no longer finding use in them and fled."

Maggey adjusted her glasses.  
"Sounds like a likely explanation! So what are you going to do now, go look for the car?"  
Edgeworth took the keys out of his pocket.  
"Precisely. I figure it won't take too long since it will be pretty clear to tell who does and doesn't have a license plate. In addition, they'll probably be stopped by the police for not having a back license plate as well as, you know, being wanted criminals, so this should be a breeze."  
He began to march to his car. Maggey trailed behind him. When Edgeworth stopped to look at her, Maggey took him by the hands gently.  
"Can I come along? Pretty please? I promise I'll be helpful!"

With a look of disgust, Edgeworth yanked his hands away, death staring Maggey.  
"What do you think you're doing? That kind of behavior can get you fired and sued so don't you dare and try that little stunt again. The only reason you're coming with me is because you have information I can use. Otherwise you'd be staying here, got it?"  
Maggey nodded with a look of frustration.  
"Got it."  
Edgeworth shook his head with annoyance and got into his car. Maggey sat down in the passengers seat silently. He started the car and drove out of the parking lot and out onto the open road. A few minutes in, not looking at Maggey, he asked,  
"So, who are you really?"  
Maggey recoiled.  
"What do you mean, sir?"  
He didn't care one bit.  
"You know exactly what I mean. Don't play dumb. I know you aren't really Ms. Byrde so don't pretend you have no idea what I'm talking about."  
The woman stared at him with a confused grimace slapped onto her face.  
"But I'm not anyone else! I'm Maggey!"  
"That's another blatant lie. But I have to say, you had me fooled for the first moment or two of our investigation and even that's an achievement."  
"Why are you so sure I'm someone else, sir?"  
Edgeworth shook his head.  
"It was basic logic really. First of all, your act was all over the place. You went from acting dumb, to suddenly having gained fifty IQ and then back down again. You couldn't keep your act straight, probably from not spending too much time with the person you were trying to impersonate. Additionally, were you to actually be Ms. Byrde, you'd know not to flirt with me. Mainly because the real Ms. Byrde has a loving boyfriend and so do I. Knowing her demeanor, cheating would be something she'd never have even thought of. And lastly, that newspaper you said you read the article about the defendant from? That was only released today, nowhere close to a few days ago. I don't read the newspaper, but I caught a glimpse of the headline when the paper was dropped off on my desk this morning. It was the exact newspaper you'd mentioned, the Morning Bulletin. The headline I can picture in my head perfectly. 'Lupin the Third: World Famous Thief Seen in Japanifornia'. So I'm guessing you didn't read today's paper a few days ago, hm? Perhaps you might even know our defendant personally."  
Edgeworth's gaze flicked to the woman as he added to the storm he was brewing up.  
"And one more thing, any respectable night guard would not have those few extra buttons undone on their uniform unless they want to get dress coded."  
Edgeworth smirked.  
"Did I hit the mark?"

The woman's expression wasn't one of shock, anger, sadness, nothing. In fact, a small smile creeped up on her lips. The woman began to laugh. It wasn't an insane or nervous type laugh, just a genuine laughter one would have when laughing at a joke. Finally when she was done, the woman looked up, the smile even bigger.  
"I didn't think you'd notice that all that was just a facade, Mr. Edgeworth. Usually the men I try and fool are more focused on what's happening down... well you know... there." She giggled. "Well I guess since you've figured me out I might as well introduce myself properly."  
She took off her glasses and hat and set them aside. She then pulled off her wig, allowing a river of ginger hair to flow down onto her shoulders. She shook her head to fluff it out and applied a fresh layer of lip gloss before speaking.  
"Fujiko Mine, legendary femme fatale and thief."  
She blew him a kiss which Edgeworth dodged instinctively. The prosecutor looked back on the road.   
"So I'm guessing you're an acquaintance of Lupin since you're a thief and all?"  
Fujiko fixed her makeup using the rear view mirror.  
"More or less. It's an on and off romantic relationship but mostly business. I kiss him, he kisses me, I double cross him, he outsmarts me, and we go our separate ways until the next adventure."  
"And why were you at the museum and disguising as Ms. Byrde? Furthermore, were you working with Lupin or at least after the same treasure?"  
Fujiko closed her eyes.  
"I decided to disguise as Maggey since I had met her at a bar a few days ago and found out she had a shift at this museum today. So I treated her to a few drinks, switched out her schedule, and covered her shift at the museum while she mistakenly went to a completely different location. I was planning to steal that jewel in that room with the broken window."  
"No wonder you were so entranced by it."  
"Exactly. But unfortunately since you were there I didn't get a chance to."   
"And why did you come along with me? Given I'd left and you stayed, you could've taken what you wanted and fled with no repercussions. And you do realize you're working against Lupin here, right? If he goes to jail you'll have no one to betray anymore."  
"Not that I'd care but I know we both know he's innocent. I've known him a while. He's done some crazy things. But he wouldn't just kill anyone for no reason other than that they were in the way. He literally has a code of honor and only causes harm to others in extreme circumstances. And this situation is nowhere close to said circumstances. Him and I aren't always on the same page but that's the one thing I know about him. He may be a stupid hopeless romantic Curious George ripoff but he'd never break his code of honor."

Edgeworth stared ahead at the road for a while before responding.  
"Well you aren't wrong. Judging from the facts and evidence thus far, I highly doubt he is the actual killer. But I'd like to find Kay and Lupin's buddies before I make my own verdict.”

Fujiko nodded slowly.  
“Hopefully this doesn’t last too long. I really don’t feel like sitting in a car for several hours.”

And thus they drove off into the night, unaware that the search had only just begun.


End file.
